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Describe biological theories of criminality - Coggle Diagram
Describe biological theories of criminality
biological theories of criminality
biologically different from non-criminals. four types of biological explanation for criminality.
physiological theories
genetic theories
brain injuries and disorders
biochemical explanations
physiological theories
Lombroso's theory; 'Born criminals'
first physiological theory for criminality put forward in 1876. Argued that criminals have different facial features to non-criminals. Compared criminal facial features to those of soldiers.
symptoms;
enormous jaws
large ears
large eyeball sockets
a high eyebrow arch
high cheek bones
a large nose
acute eyesight
long arms
Atavism - criminals had primitive/ atavistic features that distinguishes them from non-criminals. pre-social, impulsive and had reduced sensitivity to pain. in modern society they are abnormal.
born criminal and could analyse physical characteristics to see if they were criminal. criminals could also have tattoos to distinguish what gang they come from.
identified two groups;
insane criminals and epileptic criminals.
also added criminaloids, whose criminality was caused by environmental factors i.e. opportunity to steal, rather than biology.
Sheldon's somatotypes
Sheldon compared bodies of college students to those of criminals, to see what somatotype was most likely to be criminal.
endomorphs, fat and rounded people who are sociable, relaxed, outgoing and comfortable.
ectomorphs, who are skinny people that are conscious, fragile, inward looking and thoughtful.
mesomorphs, are muscular and have hard bodies, impulsive adventurous, assertive and enjoy physical activity
sheldon states that mesomorphs are more liekly to commit crime as they have the right body shape and muscles to help them to commit crime, along with their impulsiveness and risk-taking behaviour.
genetic theories
Twin studies
seeing if crime runs in families by having twins with identical DNA.
monozygotic twins - share 100% of their DNA
dizygotic twins - share 50% of their DNA, similar to any other sibling.
evidence
Christiansen - studied 3586 twins in Denmark.
there was a 52% concordance rate for monozygotic twins for them committing crime.
there was a 22% concordance rate of dizygotic twins for them committing crime.
Raine and Ishikawa - found there was a 44% concordance rate for monozygotic twins committing crime and a 21% concordance rate for dizygotic.
Adoption studies
seeing if the child inherits criminal behaviour from their birth parents or get the behaviour from their adopted parents. nurture vs nature.
evidence
mednick et al looked at 14000 adopted sons in Denmark from 1924 to 1947.
20% concordance rate for birth parents having a criminal record.
14% concordance rate for adopted parents to have a criminal record
hutchings + mednick - compared adoptees with and without criminal records.
adoptees with a criminal record were more likely to have biological parents with a criminal record.
Jacob's XYY theory
seeing if an extra Y chromosome caused criminality.
claimed that men with the extra chromosome are more aggressive and potentially more violent.
symptoms: taller, lower IQ, learning difficulties, exceptionally long limbs.
evidence
studied imprisoned criminals in a psychiatric hospital in Edinburgh. History of aggression and violent assualts.
Whatmore + Price - found them to be unstable and immature committing property crimes
brain injuries and disorders
brain injuries
i.e. Phineas Gage, got a railway pole through his prefrontal cortex which altered his behaviour massively.
prisoners are more likely to have brain injuries than non-prisoners
diseases
1920a - encephalitis lethargica among children was linked to destructiveness, impulsiveness, arson and abnormal sexual behaviour. Also dementia can lead to anti-social behaviour
Abnormal brainwave activity - some studies show abnormal EEG readings among the 'clearly insane' murderers and psychopathic criminals.
biochemical explanations
sex hormones
males - males are more aggressive than females linked to hormones such as testosterone.
Ellis and Coontz - testosterone levels peak from puberty to the early 20s and this age range correlates with the highest crime rates in males
Females - Pre-menstrual tensions, post-natal depression and lactation have been accepted partial defences for women charged with crimes such as infanticide and shoplifting.
Hormones effect judgment, mood and possibly self-control.
blood sugar levels
hypoglycaemia can trigger aggressive reactions. drinking alot can cause hypoglycaemia. alcohol consumption is linked to violent crimes.
Schoenthaler - by lowering the daily sucrose levels of young offenders, could reduce levels of anti-social behaviour.
Substance abuse
Saunders - alcohol causes about 1,000 arrests a day.
Flanzer - 80% of family violence cases involve alcohol.
cocaine and crack = violence
cannabis, heroin and MDMA reduce aggression
other substances
food additives, diets, allergens, vitamin deficiency and lead pollution. effect biochemical processes in the body which can affect behaviour.
lead and synthetic food colouring tartrazine have been linked to hyperactivity
Vitamin B deficiency has been linked to erratic and aggressive behaviour